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EAT-Lancet recommends slashing red meat consumption by 90%

Here is everything you need to know about the EAT-Lancet Commission report, funded by vegan billionaires, which recommends consumers eat red meat no more than once per week for the planet and their health.

On January 16, new dietary recommendations for health and sustainability were released by EAT-Lancet, and the advice has a decidedly anti-meat theme.

According to the report, “The Commission quantitively describes a universal healthy reference diet, based on an increase in consumption of healthy foods (such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and nuts), and a decrease in consumption of unhealthy foods (such as red meat, sugar, and refined grains) that would provide major health benefits, and also increase the likelihood of attainment of the sustainable development goals.”

The 50-page report was funded by vegan billionaires and includes a huge roll-out campaign with launches in 40 cities. The dietary recommendations include encouraging consumers to eat red meat no more than once per week and to slash their total consumption of beef and pork by 90%.

At first glance, this report screams of centralized control of our dietary choices with a globalized system that mandates what we can and cannot eat. What’s worse, these recommendations are elitist and ideological, lacking in science and common sense.

Nina Teicholz, The Nutrition Coalition executive director and science journalist says, “In my research on Walter Willett, I discovered that his first anti-meat leanings came about when he was traveling in Italy and Greece in the late 1980s and developed a passion for the food there. He interpreted the Mediterranean diet to be low in meat.

"However the data upon which he based his assumptions had been gathered in the late 1950s, on a mere 33 to 34 men on the island of Crete. Willett extrapolated from this to form the foundation of his ‘Mediterranean Diet’ pyramid, presented in 1993, in which he places red meat in the tip of the pyramid, above, even, sweets — meaning, that according to Willett, it is better to eat candy than red meat.”

If you’re thinking, well nobody can force me to eat a certain way; think again. Slap a sin tax on meat and dairy, and pretty soon, the masses will have no choice but to eat the foods they can afford.

Bret Scher, a California-based cardiologist, says, “As a cardiologist, I’ve made healthy lifestyle recommendations to thousands of patients, and it is clear that the best lifestyle is one people can actually maintain over the long term. It turns out that protein and fat are uniquely satiating—thus keeping hunger at bay—and therefore a friend to any dieter.

"Red meat is an excellent source of protein, low in calories and high in many needed nutrients. Also, in my practice, I have seen that a vegan lifestyle fails far more than it succeeds. That said, there is no one-size-fits-all diet, and it's lamentable that the EAT-Lancet authors should want to impose their ideas about healthy diets on all populations worldwide.”

The scary result will be a world that is overfed but undernourished, where people are severely lacking in the nutrients that are only readily available from animal fats and proteins.

Thankfully, there are many strong voices who have already spoken out against this incredibly flawed and biased report. Here are several articles about the report that are worth reading:

As the EAT-Lancet report gains traction, we must spread the positive news about animal fats and proteins as part of a healthy diet for people and the planet. Start by sharing today’s blog post on social media. Thank you!

The opinions of Amanda Radke are not necessarily those of beefmagazine.com or Farm Progress.